Vending machine



Feb. 16,1926.

R. c. BRADLEY VENDING MAQHINE Filed March '5, 1924 2 She ets-Sheut 1luvmtoa R/c/qard Cam/q Feb. 16 1926. 1,573,037

R. c. BRADLEY VENDING momma Filed March 5. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .11mi?3 l0}*'- 3/ 39 v I i8 3 4 n/ 42 Patented Feb. 16, i926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEAS- SIGNMENTS, TO IBENJ'. W. GAMMON & COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VENDING MACHINE.

Application filed March 5, 1924. Serial No. 697,017.

1 '0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, RICHARD (l. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States,and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VendingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a vending ma chine, and relates moreparticularly to a coin controlled vending machine; and has specialreference to the provision of a vending machine and display device fordispensing pencils or like articles.

A prime desideratum of my present invention comprehends the provision ofa vending or dispensing machine especially designed and constructed forvending relatively elongated articles such as pencils or the like, withthe parts of the machine organized and arranged to produce a compact andattractive structure. A correlative object of the invention relates tothe provision of a vending machine of this nature in which a pluralityof dispensing units are coordinated into a compact organization forselectively dispensing or vending any of a plurality of different gradesor kinds of articles.

A further principal object of my present invention centers about theprovision of a combined display device and dispensing machineconstructed and designed for informingly displaying in an attractivemanner the different articles contained in the machine, and forpermitting rapid selection and dispensing of the articles from themachine.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the elements and theirrelation one to the other, as hereinafter particularly described andsought to be defined in the claims; reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings which show a preferred embodiment of my invention,and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the vending machine and display deviceshowing the manner of vending or dispensing the articles therefrom,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a view taken in cross-section on the line 3--3, Fig. 2,showing the parts in normal position,

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the coin controlledmechanism depicting the operation thereof in the absence of a'coin, 1Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the coin controlledmechanism showing the operation thereof when a coin is inserted in themachine,

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line ,6-6, Fig. 2,showing'the operation of the 'coin controlled mechanism,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 7-7, Fig.3,.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectiona view taken on the line 88, Fig.3,

Fig. 9 is a detail view of controlled mechanism,

part of the coin Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken onthe line 10 -10, Fig. 3, and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a detail.

As heretofore mentioned, one of the principal objects of my presentinvention comprehends the provision of a vending machine or dispensingdevice having special adaptability for dispensing or vending relativelyelongated articles such as pencils or the like. Viewed from one ofitsgeneric aspects, my present invention centers about the provision ofa vending or dispensing machine in which the articles to be dispensed orvended are fed or expelled from the machine in a direction lengthwise ofthe article, the machine being adapted especially, although notnecessarily limited,

compartments, each compartment or maga- '17 of the unit.

zine defining a unit for holding a plurality such as a stack ofarticles-and selectively dispensing the same individually; and in thepresent exemplification of my invention, there is shown provided foursuch units as sembled to form the complete machine shown in perspectivein Fig. 1. For purposes of convenient illustration and description, thestructure of one such unit is depicted in detail in Figs. 2 to 10 of thedrawings, it being understood that each of the other units of thevending machine is similarly constructed.

In accomplishing the generic object of the invention, I provide meansfor selecting an article of the group or stack contained in a unit andfor moving the same into a discharge position, after which the articleis forcibly ejected through a discharge aperture in a directionlengthwise of the article, the discharge being preferably so effectedthat the article is only partially expelled, as shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings, and supported in position where the same may be manuallyremoved by the operator.

For selecting the articles individually from the stack and forniovingthe same into thedischarge position ready for expulsion, I preferablyprovide a carrier in the form of a turret or drum 11 which may be madefrom sheet material with a plurality of circumferentially arranged fins12, 12 struck up therefrom to provide a plurality of circumferentiallyarranged pockets 18, 13, each pocket being adapted for receiving andseating an article such as the pencil 1 1. The drum 11 is provided witha shaft 15 which is journalled in the opposite walls 16 and 17 of a unitand preferably by means of the re-. movable pins 18 and 19 (see Fig. 3)receivable by the ends of the shaft 15, the latter being preferably madetubular or hollow for this purpose, this construction permitting rapidassembling and removal of the drum 11. j

The drum 11 constituting the means for selecting an article and carryingthe same to a discharge position is partially rotated so as to move apencil 14 from the position shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings to thedischarge position shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings; and in the latterpositionthe pencil 14L is in alinement with a discharge aperture oropening 20 (see particularly Figs. 1, 7 and 8) provided in the frontwall For effecting the partial rotation of the drum ll, I provide a.toothed or ratchet member 21 fixed to the sleeve shaft 15 and a' plateelement 22 forming apawl, the'said plate element loosely engaging theshaft 15, the said pawl being urged against the ratchet or toothedmember 21 by means of a spring 23 seated between the plate element and afixed flange 2a. The plate shaped pawl member 22 is provided during thepartial rotation of the drum and the movement of the article to thedischarge at one end with the tooth 22 (see particularly Figs. 2 and 7)coperating with the teeth of the ratchet 21 to produce a one-waymovement upon oscillation of the pawl member, and is provided at theother end with a horizontally extending portion 22 having an orificethrough which projects an operating stud 25, the latter being preferablyformed integrally with an operating lever 26 fulcrumed at 27 on the base28 of a unit or compartment, the said lever having a portion projectingfrom the front wall 17 of a unit and provided with a finger grasp orhold 29, the construction being such that when the lever is moved fromone limiting position, as shown in Fig. 3, to the. other limitingposition shown in Fig. 6, the pawl 22 operates the ratchet 21' toadvance the drum for moving a. pencil to the discharge positionheretofore referred to. For preventing the return movement of the drum,I preferably provide a second plate element 30 loosely surrounding thesleeve shaft 15, and having a portion 30 anchored in the side wall 31 ofthe unit so as to hold the said plate element stationary, the said plateelement being provided with the oppositely arranged teeth 30 30' (seeparticularly Figs. 3 and 7) for engaging the ratchet 21,

the teeth 30 cooperating with the ratchet so as to permit forward andprevent backward rotation of the drum, the plate section 30 beiiig tothis end resiliently urged in operative position by means of a spring 32seated between the plate element 30 and an end of the drum 11. I

After the article is moved by the drum 1 v into the discharge positionready for expulsion from the container, the same is positively expelledfrom the container, as heretofore mentioned, in a direction lengthwiseof the same; and to this end I provide an ejecting means which operatesagainst an'end of the article when the latter is in the dischargeposition, the said ejecting means being preferably so constructed as toengagethe article by a sudden impact to more or less forcibly eject thesame from the-container and through the discharge opening 20. In thepreferred embodiment "of the invention, the said ejectingmeans comprisesa longitudinally movable ejecting member which may be formed integrallywith or attached to an arm 34, the said arm "forming part of the'leverfulcrulned on the bracket 35, the other arm of said lever comprising theleaf spring 36.

To produce the desired positive expulsion of the article from thecontainer, the ejecting means is first placed under tension position,and is then suddenly released; and to accomplish thls, there is provideda res1l-- ient tensioning member 37 fixed to a wall 38 or" the containerunit, which tensioning mem ber is acted upon by the lever 26 when thesame is moved from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 6,and which in turn acts upon the spring arm 36 for placing the ejectingmeans under tension. During the partial rotation of the drum, theejecting means is restrained from move ment by means of a holding member39 fixed to the lever 26, the said holding member being provided with adownwardly turned linger portion adapted to engage and ride over theedge 34-. of the arm 34: during the period of partial rotation of thedrum and to more into a cut-away portion 35t provided in said arm 3%when the drum has completed its partial rotation, the const-ruction andoperation being such that when the holding member 39 assumes theposition shown in Fig. 6, the ejecting means being then under tension,is suddenly actuated against an end of .the article let to eject thesame by sudden impact.

For moving the parts back to normal position, the lever 26 is providedwith an extension 26 which acts against the edge 34 of the arm 34. forreturning the latter from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown inFig. 3, and during this movement the holding member 39 is freed fromengagement with the arm 3% by the movementof the linger {10 thereof overan incline 34 of the arm 34:, the holding member 89 being preferablymade of a resilient material to permit of such operation In theembodin'ient of my invention illus-- trated in the drawings, thedispensing machine is made in the form of a coin controlled a iparatus;and to this end the construction includes means for permitting operationof the lever 26 only upon the insertion of a coin of the correctdenomination into the machine. struction, the coin controlled mechanismcomprises an arm 41 pivoted at 42 on the base or bottom wall 28 of theunit, the said arm being provided with a spring 43 anchored against thewall 17 for normally urging the arm clockwise as viewed 1n Fig. 3 to 6.V The cperating lever 26 is provided with a coin chute er arranged toregister with a coin slot provided in the unit wall 1? when the partsare in normal position as shown in Fig. 3. The arm ll is provided with aforwardly extending finger portion 46 which is ada 'ited to move througha cutaway l? provided in the coin chute l l, as clearly shown in Fig. 9of the drawings, the said linger being provided with a downwardly'iurned member 4:8 which. is accommodated by a cut-away 1-9 in the arm26. The arm 'tl also provided with a forwardly extending stop finger 50preferably made in ratchet form and designed to cooperate with anupstanding tooth 51 formed prefer- In the preferred con-.

ably integrallywith the operating lever 26. The parts normally assumethe position shownin Fig. 3, and the construction such that when theoperating lever 26 is moved without the insertion of a coin, thedownwardly turned member 1-8 rides against the edge of the cut-away 49so that the upturned tooth 51 engages the stop finger 50, preventingfurther operation of the lever as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. Ifhmvever, a coin of the correct denomination is received by the chute 44,when the lever to is operated the arm ll is prevented by the coin 52from moving into the position shown in Fig. 4 so that the upstandingtooth 51 is not engaged by the stop finger 50, and is freeto move in thespace or cut-away be tween the lingers 46 and 50 of the arm ll,pern'iitting continued movement of the opcrating lever 26 to thepositionshown in Fig. where the coin 52 drops into a chute S3 registering withthe chute 44.

l. have found it desirable to obstruct or prevent the insertion of acoin into the machine when the container is empty or when the apparatusfails to select an article for movement into the discharge position; andto this endl provide means controlled by the position of a selectedarticle for obstructing or freeing the passage of a coin into the slot4C5. Referring particularly to F igs. '4' and .8 of the drawings thesaid means comprises a lever 54. attached to the wall 31 by means of thesecuring element 55 so as te permit a small angular movement thereof,the said lever comprising a short arm 56 adapted to be engaged by thepencil ll when the same is moved into the position shown in Fig. 8 ofthe drawings, and con'iprising further an arm 57 having a portion 57 forobstructing or clearing the slot 45. When an article such as a pencil 14is properly selected and positioned, as shown in Fig. 8. so that duringthe next partial rotation of the drum the same will be moved into thedischarge position, the lever 5% is caused to assume the position shownin FigQ'S so as to permit the insertion of a coin for the nextoperation. lf, however, the pencil isnot properly selected, the armgravitationally moves to the position shown in Fig. 7, obstructingpreventing the insertion of a coin.

lVith the n'ovision of the above described constructioi'i, it will beseen that by expelling or ejecting the article in a direction lengthwiseof the same, I am enabled to effect a compact organization. it beingonly neces sary to provide a discharge opening having cress-sectionaldimensions substantially the ie as the cross-sectional dimension of thearticles to be dispensed. lVith this compact organization, I amfurthermore enabled to combine a plurality of units into a machine fordispensing or vending any of a the slot and i plurality of differingarticles to produce a relatively compact multiple unit device.

Thus in the Construction exemplified in Fig. 1 of the drawings, four ofsuch units are combined to produce the complete dispensing machine inwhich the discharge orifices 20 are arranged in alinement, all in thefront wall of the casing C, and the operating levers -26, 26 allarranged for convenient access at the front of the machine below thedischarge orifices so that when a lever is operated as shown in Fig. 1of the drawings, the article will be freely expelled from the opening ina partial manner and positioned to be removed by the operator.

As heretofore mentioned, a further desideratum of the present inventioncenters about the provision of a combined dispensing machine and displaydevice. To accomplish this, the front wall of the casing C is providedwith the indicia 58 identifying the kind and quality of the article tobe dispensed, and the casing C is further provided with a preferablyinclined top wall 59 having specimens of the differing articles in thecompartments eXposedly attached thereto and positioned thereon, eachspecimen identifying in display fashion the character of the articleheld by its respective compartment, compartments or sections a, b, 0 andd being identified respectively by the specimens 59, 60, 61 and 62.

For receiving the coins, the machine is provided with a till or coinreceptacle 63 having a bottom and side walls, as clearly shown in Fig. 2of the drawings, the cover for said till being provided by a telescopicsection 64c attached to the bottom wall of the mechanism units, the tilland the telescopic section being shaped to form the base for the machineto enhance the appearance of the same. For locking the coin receptacleor till to the casing C. the till is provided with horizontallyextending tongues 65, 65 (see particularly Figs. 2 and 11) which arereceived by the hook shaped elements 66 forming part of the casingwalls, a lock 67 having a bolt 68 being provided for wedging the hookshaped element 66 into the tongue 65 upon locking the same. When thelock 67 is openeththe telescopic cover 64: and the till 68 may be movedlaterally one with respect to the other, and thereafter the casing C maybe moved forwardly to free the hook shaped element 66 from the tongue65, slots 69 being provided in the telescoping cover to permit of thedesired motion.

The use and operation of my coin controlled vending machine will in themain be fully apparent from the above detailed description thereof. Itwill be further apparent that substantially all of the parts of themachine may be fashioned from sheet material so that the same may bemanufactured at a low cost, and that the parts are so arranged andorganized as to permit a rapid assembling and disassembling for purposesof repair and replacement of the )arts.

WVhile I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it will beobvious that many other changes and modifications may be made in thestructure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the inventiondefined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receivinga stack of elongated articles, the said casing having a wall providedwith a discharge opening, rotatable mechanism in said casing operativefor selecting the articles individually from said magazine, for carryingthe same to a position for discharge thru said opening and for holdingthe same in said discharge position, means operative against an end ofthe so-positioned article for positively ejecting the same thru thedischarge opening in a direction lengthwise of the article, and meansfor coordinately operating the selecting mechanism and the ejectingmeans.

A pencil vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine forreceiving a stack of pencils, the said casing having a wall providedwith adischarge opening having dimensions substantially that of thecross-sectional area of a pencil, rotatable mechanism in said casingoperative for selecting the pencils individually from said magazine forcarrying the same to a position for discharge thru said opening and forholding the same in such discharge position, means for positivelyejecting the so-positioned pencil thru the discharge opening in adirection lengthwise of the same, and means including a manuallymanipulable device for coordinately operating the selecting mechanismand the ejecting means.

3. A vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receivinga stack of elongated articles, the said casing having a wall providedwith a discharge opening,

rotatable mechanism in said casing opera tive for selecting the articlesindividually from said magazine, for carrying the same to a position fordischarge thru said opening and for holding the same in such dischargeposition, means operative against the rear end of the so-positionedarticle for posi tively ejecting the same thru the discharge opening ina direction lengthwise of the article, and means including a. fingerlever located below said discharge opening for coordinately operatingthe selecting mechanism and the ejecting means.

4. A pencil vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine forreceiving a quantity of pencils stacked both laterally and in elevation,the said casing having a wall provided with a discharge opening,mechanism in said casing operative for selecting the pencilsindividually from said magazine stack, for moving the same to a positionfor discharge thru said opening and for holding the same in suchdischarge position, means for positively ejecting the so-positionedpencil thru thd discharge opening in a direction lengthwise of thepencil, and means for coordinately operating the selecting mechanism andthe ejecting means.

5. A vending machine comprising a casing having a magazine for receivinga stack of elongated articles, the said casing having a wall providedwith a discharge opening, a rotary carrier operative for selecting thearticles individually from said magazine, for carrying the same to aposition for dis charge thru said opening and for holding the same insuch discharge position, and ejecting means operative against an end ofthe so-positioned article for ejecting the same thru said dischargeopening in a direction lengthwise of the article.

6. A pencil vending machine comprising a casing laving a magazine forreceiving a stack of pencils, the said casing having a wall providedwith a discharge opening, a

rotary carrier operative for selecting the pencils individually fromsaid magazine, for carrying the same to a position for discharge thrusaid opening and for holding the same in such discharge position,ejecting means for ejecting the so-positione-d pencil thru saiddischarge opening in a direction lengthwise of the same, and means forcoordinately operating the carrier and the ejecting means operative tofirst impart a partial rotation to the carrier with a selected pencilthereon and for then operating the ejecting means.

7. A vending machine comprising a container for holding a plurality ofrelatively elongated articles, the said container being provided with awall having a discharge opening, movable means for positioning andholding an article for ejection from the container through said opening,an ejecting means operative against an end of the article so positionedfor ejecting the same through said opening in a direction lengthwise ofthe article, and mechanism for coordinately operating the positioningmeans and the ejecting means, the said mechanism including a fingerlever located below the said discharge openin 8. A vending machinecomprising a containerhaving a magazine for holding a plurality ofarticles, a rotatable drum carrier provided with a plurality ofperipherally arranged pockets for selectively receiving the articlesindividually from said magazine and for positioning and holding the samefor ejection from the container, and a longitudinally movable ejectingmember operative against an end of the article so positioned forexpelling or ejecting the same from the container in a directionlengthwise of the article.

9. A vending machine comprising a container having a magazine forholding a plurality of articles, a rotatable drum carrier provided witha plurality of peripherally arranged pockets for selectively receivingthe articles individually from said mag? azine and for positioning andholding the same for ejection from the container, and a longitudinallymovable ejecting member operative against an endof the article sopositioned for expelling or ejecting the same from the container in adirection lengthwise operating the carrier and the ejecting memberoperative to first impart a partial rotation to the carrier with aselected article thereon, and for then operating the ejecting member.

10. A vending machine comprising a container for holding a plurality ofarticles, a rotary carrier for positioning and holding an article forexpulsion from the container, an ejecting means operative against an endof the article so positioned for expelling the same from the containerin a direction lengthwise of the article, and mechanism including amanually manipulable finger lever located below said carrier forcoordinately operating the carrier and the ejecting means by firstoperating the carrier and placing the ejecting means under tensionduring such operation, and by releasing the ejecting means after thearticle is positioned for of the article, and means for coordinatelyexpulsion so that the ejecting means strikes the end of the article bysudden impact.

11. A pencil vending machine comprising a container having a magazinefor holding a stack of pencils, a rotatable drum carrier for selecting apencil from the stack and for positioning and holding the same forejection from the container, a longitudinally movable ejecting meansoperative against an end of the pencil so positioned for expelling thesam from the container, and mechanism for coordinately operating thedrum and the ejecting means by first rotating the drum a partialrevolution to position the pencil and simultaneously placing theejecting means under tension, and by then releasing the ejecting meansso that the same is actuated by sudden impact against the end of thepencil.

12. A pencil vending machine comprising a container having a magazinefor holding a stack of pencils, a rotatable, drum carrier for selectinga pencil from the stack and for positioning and holding the same forejection from the container, a longitudinally movable ejecting meansoperative against an end of the pencil so positioned for expelling thesame from the container, and mechanism including a manually manipulablefinger lever located below said carrier and projecting through saidcontainer for coordinately operating the drum and the ejecting means byfirst imparting .to the drum a partial rotation to position the penoiland simultaneously placing the ejecting ineans under tension, and bythen releasing Signed New York city, in the county of New York and Stateof New York, this 3rd day of March A. D. 1924.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY.

